The Scream of the Red Temple

Deep within a dense forest in southern Kerala lies a small temple, swallowed by trees on all sides. Locals call it Kala Kali – the Black Kali Temple – though its outer walls are stained a deep crimson, as if soaked in blood long ago.

The whispered tale:

In the summer of 1997, a young woman named Rekha Kumar disappeared after setting out on a solo photography trip to the forgotten temple. It was part of her final university art project. Rekha was known for her bravery — she scoffed at stories of ghosts or curses, believing the camera only captured truth, not superstition.

She went alone, despite the warning of an old man from a nearby village:

“If you hear screaming from inside... don’t answer. And never look back.”

But Rekha never returned.

What was found later:

Three days later, police conducted a brief search and reached the temple gate. They found her bag, her camera, and an empty water bottle. The camera still worked… but only had three photos:

A blurry, tilted shot of the temple entrance.

A picture of a strange carving on a stone wall — a grotesque image that looked like human faces pushing out of the rock.

The third photo was terrifying: a shot of Rekha herself, taken from inside the temple. Her eyes wide open in horror, mouth agape as if screaming. Behind her was a long shadow, leaning toward her ear.

But Rekha was nowhere to be found.

And the strangeness continued:

In 2018, a young researcher of paranormal phenomena named Rahul Deeban decided to visit the place after discovering the photos in the university archive. He attempted to recreate the exact shots Rekha had taken. On the first night he camped near the temple, he wrote in his journal:

“The screaming begins after midnight. Not a woman’s scream — deeper. Like the earth itself in pain. I saw a face in the wall. Not a carving. A real face.”

The next day, Rahul vanished. He has never been found.

As for the temple…

It is now fenced off with iron bars, with a sign posted in three languages:

“No Entry – Risk of Collapse”

But villagers say they still hear the screams during rainy nights, just like in the summer of ’97.

The twist:

Last year, a new photo appeared in the university archive. A photo that wasn’t there before, despite the camera being examined countless times. The image shows a bearded man — Rahul — standing behind Rekha, in the exact same position as the shadow in her photo. His eyes are pitch black, with no whites.

And no one knows who took the picture.

Was it a curse? A gateway to another world? Or does the temple consume those who try to see it as it truly is?

Those brave enough to seek the truth… never come back.